Sorry for the intermittent posting, folks, but I am trying to focus on my literary and personal lives as well as exercise and eating well. No time to blog!
Please accept this salsa recipe from Mark Bittman in today's New York Times - it's made with citrus. Substitute another orange for the grapefruit if you don't have grapefruit trees. There's still plenty of citrus hanging around our neighborhood gardens.
April 8, 2009
Recipe
Maya Citrus Salsa (Xec)
1 orange
1 small grapefruit
1 large lemon
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 habanero or other chili, seeded and minced, or to taste
Salt to taste
Cut orange in half horizontally and section it as you would a grapefruit; do this over a bowl to capture all its juice. Remove seeds and combine flesh and juice in bowl. Repeat with grapefruit and lemon. Stir in cilantro, habanero and salt.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Compost Happens
One my favorite local newspaper columnists is Adina Sara, who writes "The Imperfect Gardener" over at the MacArthur Metro. She lives about four blocks southeast of me, so that's pretty local (although our neighborhood is rich with writers - Ericka Lutz to the north of me, and Elmaz Abinader maybe a hundred yards south).
Adina has now published a memoir of her garden called "The Imperfect Garden" which you can buy at Laurel Bookstore, Amazon, or through Adina's site linked above.
I was just poking around my back yard and peered into the compost box I started in the summer of 2007, just before I was diagnosed with this latest bout of cancer. I managed to add kitchen scraps and yard trimmings to it for a while. Then last winter I left the lid off because I could see it was way too dry. I also added a few spades of clay from the weed patch in the back.
No matter how lackadaisical you are about compost, your pile will eventually turn into decent mulch. Today the core of the heap is rich black gooey stuff: yum. It's surrounded by undigested dry leaves and weeds though. Some people might stir their compost to get it to rot evenly. Not me. I am probably going to spade up the good stuff from the middle and start adding more kitchen scraps. I'll speak to the gardener again about dumping the grass clippings in as well. And guess what - I let my boys pee on the compost heap. Yes I do. You don't think that's any worse than what the cats, raccoons, skunks, squirrels and roof rats do all over the place, do you?
Compost happens.
Adina has now published a memoir of her garden called "The Imperfect Garden" which you can buy at Laurel Bookstore, Amazon, or through Adina's site linked above.
I was just poking around my back yard and peered into the compost box I started in the summer of 2007, just before I was diagnosed with this latest bout of cancer. I managed to add kitchen scraps and yard trimmings to it for a while. Then last winter I left the lid off because I could see it was way too dry. I also added a few spades of clay from the weed patch in the back.
No matter how lackadaisical you are about compost, your pile will eventually turn into decent mulch. Today the core of the heap is rich black gooey stuff: yum. It's surrounded by undigested dry leaves and weeds though. Some people might stir their compost to get it to rot evenly. Not me. I am probably going to spade up the good stuff from the middle and start adding more kitchen scraps. I'll speak to the gardener again about dumping the grass clippings in as well. And guess what - I let my boys pee on the compost heap. Yes I do. You don't think that's any worse than what the cats, raccoons, skunks, squirrels and roof rats do all over the place, do you?
Compost happens.
Tuna Beans (Tonno e Fagioli)
When the cupboard is looking really bare, make tonno e fagioli for a filling pantry supper.
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 onion, chopped fine
Olive oil
1 can tuna (packed in oil is yummier)
1 14 oz. can of tomatoes - San Marzano best, but any will do in a pinch
Basil
1 14 oz. can of white beans (other beans will do; chickpeas make a decent variation)
Chopped parsley for garnish
Salt and pepper
Saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat until it is clear and softened, at least ten minutes; then add garlic and saute until tender but not brown. Add tomatoes with their juice, breaking up fruit if whole. Simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes until tomatoes are cooked. (By the way, this is a marinara sauce - if you have no tuna or beans, you can serve this over pasta). Add dry or fresh basil to taste. Add drained tuna and drained beans, stir all and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped parsley.
This is really good served with a loaf of crusty bread. It makes a nice topping for toasted bread rounds, too. If it's your main course, then just add a green salad and you have a meal. White wine? Yum!
Written on Monday afternoon, posted Tuesday through the magic of scheduled posting. Yes, I really am offline on weekday mornings and all weekend.
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 onion, chopped fine
Olive oil
1 can tuna (packed in oil is yummier)
1 14 oz. can of tomatoes - San Marzano best, but any will do in a pinch
Basil
1 14 oz. can of white beans (other beans will do; chickpeas make a decent variation)
Chopped parsley for garnish
Salt and pepper
Saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat until it is clear and softened, at least ten minutes; then add garlic and saute until tender but not brown. Add tomatoes with their juice, breaking up fruit if whole. Simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes until tomatoes are cooked. (By the way, this is a marinara sauce - if you have no tuna or beans, you can serve this over pasta). Add dry or fresh basil to taste. Add drained tuna and drained beans, stir all and heat through. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped parsley.
This is really good served with a loaf of crusty bread. It makes a nice topping for toasted bread rounds, too. If it's your main course, then just add a green salad and you have a meal. White wine? Yum!
Written on Monday afternoon, posted Tuesday through the magic of scheduled posting. Yes, I really am offline on weekday mornings and all weekend.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Safeway specials for your emergency kit
I shop Safeway for staples, paper and cleaning supplies, and other household necessities. I also keep an eye on the specials to stock our pantry. Remember I told you to build up your cupboards so that you have two weeks' worth of food stored in case of an emergency? And of course, eat what you store - use the food regularly and replenish.
Well, this week Safeway is running a $.75 cent sale: mix-n-match. I bought lots of Dennisons' Chili and canned tomatoes. If I needed canned green beans or corn I would have bought that, as well. I may go back for more of the chili before the sale runs out - my husband is eating it. I had thought it would be good to have some cans to take camping this summer, but clearly ten cans is not enough chili to keep in storage.
The Fruitvale Safeway across from Dimond Library also stocks an unbelievable value in chickpeas. It's a 29 oz. can sold in the Mexican food section - $1.19 regular price, on sale for $1.09. The cheapest price for a 14 oz. can of chickpeas is usually $1.25 on sale, and right now those 14 oz. cans are around $1.99. So the 29 oz. can is nearly ONE QUARTER the price.
Of course you can always make hummus with one of these cans! Double the linked recipe.
But we enjoyed the chickpeas dressed with a lemon-garlic vinaigrette and garnished with chopped parsley, scallions and cumin. I thought I was making a lot of this salad but my family demolished it all in one sitting.
The Safeway on Redwood Road carries Chicken of the Sea solid tuna packed in olive oil that was on special for under $2 a can. It's better quality than the usual sale tuna. I've been eating it dressed with lemon and pepper. Yes you should limit consumption of tuna due to mercury worries, but once or twice a month is fine, and the Omega 3s are so good for you, they make up for the mercury (so claims Erik Peper, Ph.D. and exercise physiologist).
Well, this week Safeway is running a $.75 cent sale: mix-n-match. I bought lots of Dennisons' Chili and canned tomatoes. If I needed canned green beans or corn I would have bought that, as well. I may go back for more of the chili before the sale runs out - my husband is eating it. I had thought it would be good to have some cans to take camping this summer, but clearly ten cans is not enough chili to keep in storage.
The Fruitvale Safeway across from Dimond Library also stocks an unbelievable value in chickpeas. It's a 29 oz. can sold in the Mexican food section - $1.19 regular price, on sale for $1.09. The cheapest price for a 14 oz. can of chickpeas is usually $1.25 on sale, and right now those 14 oz. cans are around $1.99. So the 29 oz. can is nearly ONE QUARTER the price.
Of course you can always make hummus with one of these cans! Double the linked recipe.
But we enjoyed the chickpeas dressed with a lemon-garlic vinaigrette and garnished with chopped parsley, scallions and cumin. I thought I was making a lot of this salad but my family demolished it all in one sitting.
The Safeway on Redwood Road carries Chicken of the Sea solid tuna packed in olive oil that was on special for under $2 a can. It's better quality than the usual sale tuna. I've been eating it dressed with lemon and pepper. Yes you should limit consumption of tuna due to mercury worries, but once or twice a month is fine, and the Omega 3s are so good for you, they make up for the mercury (so claims Erik Peper, Ph.D. and exercise physiologist).
Drink local water
I've been a local water snob since I lived in New York City. My friend David Grinstead, bartender at the Four Seasons and Algonquin, taught me to ask for "a glass of Croton Reservoir," please. Sounds better than just plain old tap water, doesn't it?
Here in the Bay Area I guess we'd have to call it "a glass of Hetch Hetchy", not quite as catchy.
Anyway, the NY Times reports that access to good drinking water in public schools can help fight obesity.
I know people who will claim that you need to filter your water for all kinds of reasons. Look, my brother has a Ph.D. in water quality and is one of the foremost experts on the subject in the state of California. He defined the mercury load for the San Francisco Bay. He told me to go ahead and drink our tap water unfiltered.
And now we see it prevents obesity? Okay!
Here in the Bay Area I guess we'd have to call it "a glass of Hetch Hetchy", not quite as catchy.
Anyway, the NY Times reports that access to good drinking water in public schools can help fight obesity.
I know people who will claim that you need to filter your water for all kinds of reasons. Look, my brother has a Ph.D. in water quality and is one of the foremost experts on the subject in the state of California. He defined the mercury load for the San Francisco Bay. He told me to go ahead and drink our tap water unfiltered.
And now we see it prevents obesity? Okay!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Slow Gardening
The NY Times finally prints a gardening article that totally expresses my philosophy.
Slow Gardening.
I call it Darwinian gardening - if it can't survive my neglect, then it doesn't belong in my garden. Native plants do well in such conditions.
And when I first saw a picture of a bottle tree, I said: I HAVE TO HAVE THAT. But I don't want to risk putting it in the front yard here in Oakland, for fear passing rowdies might be tempted to do the wrong thing.
But the back yard. Now there's an idea... a bottle tree in the back yard! Must start collecting blue bottles (my favorite color).
Meanwhile, look for local gardener and writer Adina Sara's new book, part memoir: The Imperfect Gardener. She's another gardener whose ideas resonate.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Mourning on MacArthur
These are sad days for our community. This photo in today's San Francisco Chronicle says it all.
America is plagued with guns, poverty and violence. Rich people kill each other, too, but it seems the vast majority of murders happen among the poor. Saturday's killings were particularly noticed because they took the lives of four police officers as well as that of an ex-convict on parole.
I am very sorry for the dead and their survivors; I am sorry for the living in Oakland who face fear, crime and violence every day.
In these times I remember how bad life was in New York City in the 1970s. I visited there, I moved there and lived in a terrible neighborhood full of drug dealers running amok. (but shootings were rare in those days). I am not about to leave Oakland. In fact, my little area of Oakland is still serene.
Let us mourn our dead, and let us honor their memories by keeping up the struggle to make Oakland livable, lawful and just for all. Food, gardens, community are part of the solution.
America is plagued with guns, poverty and violence. Rich people kill each other, too, but it seems the vast majority of murders happen among the poor. Saturday's killings were particularly noticed because they took the lives of four police officers as well as that of an ex-convict on parole.
I am very sorry for the dead and their survivors; I am sorry for the living in Oakland who face fear, crime and violence every day.
In these times I remember how bad life was in New York City in the 1970s. I visited there, I moved there and lived in a terrible neighborhood full of drug dealers running amok. (but shootings were rare in those days). I am not about to leave Oakland. In fact, my little area of Oakland is still serene.
Let us mourn our dead, and let us honor their memories by keeping up the struggle to make Oakland livable, lawful and just for all. Food, gardens, community are part of the solution.
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